Wisconsin Literacy

This October marks the 11th celebration of Health Literacy Awareness Month. "This year's project focuses on stories of why health literacy matters to healthcare providers, policy makers, patients, families, and all others who care about health. Each day in October, you can find one or more new essays, podcasts, songs, and slideshows celebrating the theme Finding the Right Words for Better Health at the Health Literacy Month website, www.healthliteracymonth.org.

Advocates can work to raise awareness about the importance of understandable health communication in October by using several resources from Helen Osborne of Health Literacy Consulting at www.healthliteracymonth.org/hl_month_resources.asp.

Please visit www.nphic.org/newsletters.aspx to see the article in the special health literacy edition of the NPHIC News, from the National Public Health Information Coalition. Wisconsin Literacy is highlighted among other Midwest leaders in health literacy (see pages 2 and 5).

Here is a Robert Wood Johnson issue brief that discusses the link between educational attainment and health and includes statistical data: www.rwjf.org/files/research/commission2009eduhealth.pdf.

National Coalition for Literacy health literacy fact sheet: www.ncladvocacy.org/ild.html